Separation of Design and Engineering

One of the greatest hurdles that many Web development shops face is the coordination of their design, architecture, and engineering teams. Each team believes it should have the most control over the project, and each team often spends valuable time waiting for another to finish so that they can begin their work.

If you are already familiar with many Web development processes, Figure 20.1 will appear quite recognizable. After initial creative exploration and direction has been completed, a development team is assembled and prepared for the scope of the project. In many cases, an architecture group then begins structuring content and user pathways. Once complete, the design team comes back in, developing the appearance and strengthening the structure established. After completing the designs and producing the artwork, the engineering team is then able to begin building the HTML and back-end systems to facilitate the structure and design.